ABSTRACT
President Park’s foresight and leadership were complemented by that of countless known and unknown entrepreneurs, civil servants and a host of everyday people. Among many industrial magnates, several stand out, including Chairman Chung Ju-yung, founder of the Hyundai Group; Chairman Lee Byung-chull, founder of the Samsung Group; and Chairman Park Tae-jun, the icon behind POSCO. Mr. O Won-chol, President Park’s chief economic advisor, also deserves recognition for his role as a dedicated architect of the nation’s industrialization in the heart of the bureaucracy. Although it is seldom discussed, there was a legion of ordinary folk whose contribution at the grassroots level was as important as that of those at the top. In a sense, South Korea’s development story is the sum of efforts and struggles of individual Koreans to overcome poverty and not to pass on their poverty to their children.
